Comparison

Pointillist vs SnapDot

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Pointillist

Transform your photos into pointillist art in seconds. Select an image from your device or camera, and the app will render it into a unique dot-patterned masterpiece. Adjust and share your creations easily.

Highlights
  • Photo to pointillism conversion
  • Select photos from album or camera
  • Zoom in/out to view artwork
  • Adjust painting to taste
  • Save, mail, print, and share creations
Features
Read full description

As you may know, pointillism is a form of painting developed in the late 19th century branching from Impressionism, in which small dots are applied in patterns to form a picture. And a pointillist, who paints with pointillism, usually needs to spend months to paint the hundreds of thousands of tiny dots. But now with the Pointillist, you can "paint" your photo into a work of pointillism art just in seconds. With it, you can select a photo from the album or the camera, and the Pointillist will render the photo into pointillism for you. Zoom in/out to view your artwork and adjust the painting according to your flavor. When finished, you can save, mail, print, or share your masterpiece on Facebook and Twitter. Make your iPhone/iPad a pointillism art master!

About

SnapDot

Transform your photos into unique stipple drawings with intuitive editing tools. Control dot density, contrast, and brightness to create professional-looking art for sharing or printing. Supports color, greyscale, and black-and-white outputs.

Highlights
  • Create stipple drawings from photos
  • Control dot density, contrast, and brightness
  • Color, greyscale, and black-and-white modes
  • Optional canvas background
  • Advanced PDF exporting
  • Social media integration
Features
Read full description

Automatically create one-of-kind professional stipple drawings! Create customized professional stipple drawings from photos with easy editing tools on the iPhone and iPad. The dots respond instantly to your artistic expression. The most compelling and innovative drawing app on the App Store. CHECK OUT SNAPDOT ON PINTEREST: http://pinterest.com/jccollier/snapdot-drawings/ SnapDot gives your iPhone and iPad the ability to draw professionally with stipples: dots! SnapDot applies your creativity to your favorite photos with intuitive controls. Each setting—whether it’s the number of dots, contrast, or brightness—turns your photo into a unique work of art to share with friends or to frame and hang on your wall. FEATURES: + Fine-level control over contrast, brightness, and number of dots. + Individual modes for color, greyscale and true black-and-white drawings. + Optional canvas background and advanced exporting to PDF. + Helpful on-screen reminders of buttons and icons. + Improved integration with Facebook and all your other apps. SUPPORTS: All iPhone and iPad devices running iOS 8.0+, including iOS 9. Have an issue? We can't respond to App Store reviews, so email us at support@dotwerx.com.

Screenshots

Pointillist4 screens
SnapDot1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: SnapDot at Free against Pointillist's $0.99. SnapDot also leads on rating (4.6 vs 3.2) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 7 months). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

SnapDot is free to download; Pointillist costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SnapDot holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 13 and 39 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 63% of Pointillist's written reviews are positive against 82% of SnapDot's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pointillist ships an update every 7 months, SnapDot every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Pointillist versus SnapDot: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPointillistSnapDot
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating3.2 (13 ratings)4.6 (39 ratings) — better
Positive reviews62.8% of reviews82.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1339 — better
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.08.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer志明 丁Dotwerx

Customer experience

Pointillist

All ratings13 ratings
Positive53.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative46.2%
Written reviews43 reviews
Positive62.8%
Neutral16.3%
Negative20.9%

SnapDot

All ratings39 ratings
Positive87.2%
Neutral7.7%
Negative5.1%
Written reviews62 reviews
Positive82.3%
Neutral8.1%
Negative9.7%

Bugs and requests

Pointillist

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

SnapDot

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • Crashes when opened
  • Crashes upon opening after iOS 6 update
  • Sliders no longer visible
  • App will not delete
  • Background frame/paper button doesn't toggle background
Show 5 more
  • Image resizing/resolution reduction
  • Self-hiding adjustment popovers
  • Manual adjustment brushes confusing
  • Does not install on iPad (for one user)
  • Saving to camera roll not full size

Requested features

8 requests
  • More dots
  • Ability to crop image
  • More updates
  • Port to macOS
  • Add squares & geometric shapes
Show 3 more
  • Reset feature
  • Stop auto-hiding adjustment popovers
  • Full size saving to camera roll

In-app purchases

None

Pointillist

No in-app purchases

None

SnapDot

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pointillist free?
Pointillist costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is SnapDot free?
SnapDot is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Pointillist or SnapDot?
SnapDot is rated higher. Pointillist averages 3.2 out of 5 from 13 ratings, while SnapDot averages 4.6 from 39 ratings.
Do Pointillist or SnapDot have ads?
Neither Pointillist nor SnapDot shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pointillist or SnapDot?
Pointillist ships an update every 7 months, and SnapDot every 2 months. Most recently, Pointillist was updated on October 3, 2026 and SnapDot on October 14, 2026.

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